Welcome to Building Trades Employers Association of New York’s (BTEA New York) monthly Safety Brief, your virtual briefcase of important safety news and updates. This digital publication contains highlights from BTEA New York’s Construction Safety Committee meetings with New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representatives. 

Asset 11.png

On January 18, 2023, BTEA New York's Construction Safety Committee virtually held its monthly safety meeting. Below are highlights from the agenda.



Asset 21.png
  • 2022 Stop Work Orders, DOB issued 5,288 stop work orders (SWOs), including 3,943 partial and 1345 full-stop orders. The majority of SWOs are due to expired licenses and supervisors needing to enter job logs and plans. DOB encourages all site supervisors to keep a complete set of plans on site to reduce violations. Reinspection cases totaled 6,914 for 2023, with an average service response of 2.3 days.
  • 2022 Incident Report/The year saw 565 construction-related incidents resulting in 589 injuries. These incidents resulted in 10 fatalities, including two in December. Most fatalities were caused by falls, which call for added emphasis on work safety and ensuring workers are adequately tied off and secure. 

 

  • SST Cards in Effect/Starting February 1, 2023, DOB begins enforcement of Site Safety Training (SST) cards, which are issued through the NYC DOB Training Connect platform. The cards are required for all construction and demolition workers on large and complex work sites. Workers have reported delays in receiving cards and other problems, some related to vendor and process changes. DOB is addressing the concerns.

 

  • Winter Safety Campaign/This week, DOB launched a new citywide construction safety campaign to raise awareness among contractors and workers about common hazards, safety concerns, and the dangers of cutting corners during the winter months. The campaign is a preventative measure to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities. The campaign will include construction safety sweeps on job sites and educational outreach to workers, contractors, and site safety professionals.

Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA)

  • OSHA Recordkeeping & Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Webinar is set for February 2, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. EST. During this two-hour webinar, National OSHA representatives will give an overview of OSHA's recordkeeping requirements, discuss OSHA's updated electronic reporting system (ITA), and review information on OSHA's web page. The event is free; participants can submit questions in advance. Register


  • Also, upcoming OSHA events include the annual Safe+Sound Week, Work Zone Awareness, National Stand Down to Prevent Falls (May 1-5), and Trench Safety Stand Down (June).

MTA Construction & Development

  • In December, there were five incidents of lost time and six "recordables," which is a good result when measured against the number of labor hours and active projects. Final statistics for 2022 are still being finalized, but the incident numbers to date include 62 lost times and 59 recordables. Serious incidents for 2022 stand at 12, unchanged from last month's briefing. Category breakdown for overall incidents in 2022 ranked: Struck bys are the most common, followed by slips, trips, and falls, with sprains and strains at third.


  • Looking ahead, MTA is moving to increase its training module to extend outreach and training to contractors (including those who are new to working with the MTA) to ensure everyone is up to speed and aware of potential hazards and situations specific to the transportation system (tunnel and bridge work).

A Reminder of Available Web Resources

●     Buildings News Update: 12.29.2022, 1.13.2023

●     Enforcement Bulletin: July 2022

●     Media Coverage

●     Service Updates

●     DOB Rules https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/rules.page

●     Upcoming Events Calendar 

Legislative Update

Shortly following her reelection, Governor Hochul acted on a slate of pending legislation relevant to the construction industry. Categories of bills fall into three “buckets”:


  • Passed by the legislator and vetoed by the governor/The Materials Escalation Bill was crafted to help contractors who agreed to pricing in contracts pre-Covid only to have supply chain issues caused by the pandemic dramatically increase their expenses. The bill would have provided some compensation for the affected contractors but was vetoed by the governor as unworkable. Discussions are underway to try the measure again in the new legislative session, as a standalone bill or as a set-aside in the state budget.


  • Signed by the governor despite industry reservations/ The Contractor Safety Registration Law requires every contractor and contractor, regardless of license status, to register with the NY Department of Labor. BTEA fought the bill as placing an undue and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. The law will not go into effect for another two years giving BTEA time to work toward its repeal. A second option would be to use the next two years to negotiate a more "contractor-friendly" registration process.

 

  • Passed by the legislature, signed by the governor, but still not law pending chapter amendments/Carlos' Law, which increases criminal liability for contractors in cases of death or serious injury of an employee, passed the legislature with broad support. By the time the bill reached the governor's desk, however, BTEA had argued successfully that the legislation falls short. The governor drafted a chapter amendment before the legislature that reduces the fines, raises the bar for criminality, and specifies "employee" in the language replacing the broader term "worker." The last change means that contractors should not be held responsible for injuries to people onsite who they do not employ. Carlos Law becomes law pending the legislature's approval of the amendment.

 Communications & Events

●     Fast 4 Newsletter: January 2023

●     Safety Brief for December 2022

This report was provided by BTEA New York

Asset 11.png

Building Trades Employers Association Building Trades Employers Association of New York is the construction contractor's unified advocate for construction safety standards, professional development, government affairs, public relations and fostering communication between public officials, public and private owners, labor, and the public. Realizing that a construction industry is essential to the vibrant future of New York City, its activities are dedicated to a building environment meeting the highest of environmental standards, integrity, cost efficiency, productivity and value that contributes to improving the quality of life in New York City. BTEA represents 26 Construction Manager, General Contractor, Subcontractor and Specialty Trade contractor associations with over 1,200 individual contractor members.

Footer.png

View as Webpage